Geoege h



' No. 224,278. Patented Feb-.7180, 1880,

WITNESSE'S..

UNITED STATES] PATENT OFFICE,

GEOEGE E.r DANIELs', OE PROVIDENCE, EHODE ISLAND.`

DEVICE FOR AUTOlvllA-TlcALLYjl-'EEDINGy LIVE STOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming parier Letters Patent No. 224,278, dated February1o, Iseo,

Application led November 4, 1879.

To all whom it may concern i Be it known that I, GEORGE H. DANIELs,ofthe city and county of Providence, and State of Rhode Island, h aveinvented a new and useful Device for Automatically Feeding Live Stock;and I do hereby declarethat the following specification, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the same, isa full, clear, and eX/act description thereof.

The invention hereinafter described relates to' the feeding of livestock; l and itconsists'in an improved device. for automaticallydelivering` food to animals at any predetermined time without thenecessity of personal attention at the time of feeding. j

In the drawing I have illustrated, in central vertical section, adevice` embodying :my-I` invention.

This device consists of a case, A, which isextended downward, as atA',in the form of a chute leading` to the feed-trough.- .One vportion, B,of this case is arranged to receive the feed, and may be designated as ahopper. This hopper is closed on the underside by a bottom or valve, b,which is hinged to the case A and provided with a rearward-'projectingarm, O.

Secured lto the case A is a stud, D, to vwhich is pivoted` agravity-catch, E, the relative re,-Y

lation of the catch E and arm G being such that when the valve bisraised, and the outlet of the hopper thereby closed, the'said arm willbe engaged by the catch and the valve will be retained in its raisedposition until the latch is tripped. i

The trippingof the latch and consequent falling of the valve b may beaccomplished at any time b y hand 5 but one object ofthe invention is toprovide a device like or equivalent to that thus far described withmechanism which shall automatically perform the tripping operationat-any desired time, that, asabove stated, l personal attention will notbe requiredat the time of feeding. The mechanism here shown for thepurpose consists of an alarm-clock, F, which is so arranged withreference to Vthe tripping mechanism that thefhammer f will operate,when allowed todo so, upon the catch E and release the valve b.

Another feature of the invention is the'means employed for raising thehopper-valve b, and

thereby closing the outlet of the hopper. This consists in the leinployment of a cover, Gr, which is' hinged to the case A, and isconnected, by a cord or equivalent, g, to the valve b, so that bythrowing back the cover the valve is raised and locked in position, andby closing the cover the cord is sulhciently slack to allow the valve tofall, and the feed is protected while in the hopper.`

The operation of the device is substantially as follows.: lThe hostlerapproaches the device, throws back the cover G, thereby raising thevalve b into a position to be locked by the engagement of the catch Ewith the arm C, deposits the feed in the hopper B, and closes thecover.v The alarm-clock F is then set to release-the hammer f at thedesired time, and the device is in readiness to perform its ofceautomatically. When the time arrives for the animal to be fed the hammerf operates upon the catch E, disengaging it from the arm C, the valve ,bfalls, and the feed is precipitated into the trough'belom If it isdesired temporarily to dispense with the automatic feature of the deviceand feed direct, a hinged arm, h`secured to the door` H of that portionof the caseA which iucloses the'clock, may be turned down so as to moveand hold the catch E out of position to engage the arm C.'y Under thisarrangement feed l deposited in the hopper will be immediatelyprecipitated into the trough below when the cover G is closed.

The special advantages of my automatic de- Vvice are sufcientlyobviousto need no mention, it being evident that greatconvenience and savingofV time will result from its'use.

Although I have shown and described a definite construction andarrangement of the parts said cover is raisedthe .valve will be .closedi thereby, Instead, also, of usingahopper with IOO a movable bottom orvalve, a tilting hopper may be employed and be retained in position by acatch, to be operated upon as described. In the latter case the hopper,when it tilts, will act as a discharge-Valve, and should be oonnected tothe cover G by a cord or equivalent, so that when said cover is raisedthe hopper will be moved into a position' to be locked.

I am also aware that instead of the alarmclock shown a variety of clockmechanisms may be employed, some part of which may be made to directlyengage some portion of the hopper-valve or an appendage thereto, and thedesired result be accomplished. Such modifications, however, Would beWithin my invention. Therefore,

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

GEO. H. DANIELS.

Vitnesses:

EDsoN SALIsBURY JONES, WM. A. GAD'Y.

